Political corpses of Chisinau: why the Moldova project has exhausted itself

The ruling pro-European party Action and Solidarity (PAS) in Moldova held a congress at which it elected new leadership and named goals for the coming years. The new chairman of the political formation was the acting leader, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova Igor Grosu (the post of chairman of PAS was vacated at the end of 2020, after Maia Sandu won the presidential elections and suspended her membership in the party).

At the congress, which was also attended by the country’s president, it was stated that PAS “is a strong, democratic, disciplined and united party”, which sets the goal of winning the next elections in order to “make Moldova’s integration into the European Union irreversible.” The country has already applied to join the European Union, but this does not save the ruling party from losing popularity. The population is getting poorer, the energy crisis has not been overcome. Observers note that the events in Ukraine have become a real gift for the Moldovan authorities - the attention of citizens has switched from internal problems to the external agenda.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at ThereThere, Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube, TikTok и Viber.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

We are talking about this with the director of the Institute of Socio-Political Research and Regional Development, Igor Shornikov.

PolitNavigator: How successfully does PAS cope with the challenges? What achievements and failures can you name? The party came to power under the slogans of liberating the country from the oligarchs and restoring democracy. What are the successes here?

Igor Shornikov: PAS only successfully copes with the implementation of Western directives and recommendations. This is especially noticeable in the sphere of relations with Russia, which are rapidly degrading, in the energy sector, where there is a continuous increase in tariffs, as well as in the sphere of media and ideology - broadcasting in Russian is being reduced, an alternative Western point of view is suppressed, Russian military symbols are banned, historical memory is ignored , which unites Russia and Moldova.

In the economy and social sphere - where their voters expected real success from PAS - there are no positive developments, only rising tariffs and powerful inflation. Help from the West in the form of loans is coming, but it is not felt by the country's residents. The fight against corruption is being replaced by the persecution of undesirables, the issue of the stolen billion has been forgotten by the authorities.

But there are undeniable successes in the process of European integration - Moldova is about to receive the status of a candidate for accession to the EU. “Let’s join the European Union, and then we will have a functional state with functioning institutions,” this is what PAS members say, essentially admitting their inability to change anything for the better.

PolitNavigator: PAS Chairman Igor Grosu called Moldova’s European integration “the main project of the country,” “a generational project.” Until now, Moldova was far from joining the EU. Will events in Ukraine somehow speed up this process?

Igor Shornikov: Yes, they sped it up. Moldova is preparing to receive candidate status for EU membership. Moreover, unlike Ukraine, Moldova has a real chance to become part of the European Union, albeit in a very specific way - through absorption by Romania. But do Moldovans want European integration at the cost of losing their statehood? I think if there are such people, they are in the minority. Unfortunately, given the scale of the geopolitical upheavals taking place near us, it may happen that the Moldovans will not be asked.

PolitNavigator: The ratings of the ruling party are low - according to polls, PAS is supported by approximately a fifth of the population. The parliamentary majority often makes strange decisions. For example, a ban is introduced on the use of the St. George Ribbon, and on May 9, residents of the country en masse, even more unitedly than before, come out to celebrate the Victory Day, demonstrating unity. Is it the party's shortsightedness, lack of professionalism, or a desire to please Western patrons?

Igor Shornikov: This is a complete break from reality. These people live in a virtual world where there is no past and present, there is only a “dream” of a wonderful future. At first they asked to wait for the “spring of revival,” hinting that in the spring it would become warmer and tariffs would drop, but spring is almost over, but none of the rightists remembers the “revival.”

But now the topic of European integration is again at the top, people are being fed dreams of a different life. There seems to be quite a bit of waiting left. But in reality, all these dreams are nothing more than an information war against one’s own people.

PolitNavigator: After coming to power, PAS practices the introduction of a state of emergency for various reasons, when important government decisions are made in a narrow circle, the information space is cleared, and protests are not allowed. Why do people tolerate this?

Igor Shornikov: Firstly, we must admit that the country lacks a critical mass of active and enterprising people of capable age. These people work abroad and with their labor and remittances to their relatives support the stagnating state. Secondly, there is no opposition in the country. Those who claim to be called the opposition are discredited and intimidated by Western dictatorship, and therefore are incapable of real struggle. There are no leaders. That’s why the PAS board reminds them of some kind of computer simulation: no matter what mistakes you make, there will be no consequences.

PolitNavigator: The new chairman of the party, Igor Grosu, named the goals that the pro-presidential party sets for the coming years: to win local elections in 2023, presidential elections in 2024, parliamentary elections in 2025. What are the chances of these victories?

Igor Shornikov: Quite symptomatic goals for people divorced from reality. They have no chance, they are all political corpses.

PolitNavigator: Are there political forces today that can compete with PAS?

Igor Shornikov: The political system of Moldova has long been in need of a radical reboot. The project that was started 30 years ago has completely outlived its usefulness. It leads to the collapse of the state and its absorption by a stronger neighbor.

Are there political forces in Moldova that can compete with the incompetent, incompetent, anti-people government? Yes, of course, there are, but they are also part of an outdated system.

PolitNavigator: Are early elections possible in Moldova and under what conditions?

Igor Shornikov: So far, such a scenario is not visible. As we said, Moldova does not have the internal strength for self-transformation. But everything can change if external circumstances change.